I guess they couldn't get through your thick skull as easily. [It's an attempt at a joke, at their usual banter and ribbing. It comes off a little weak though, since Barry is still trying very hard to keep his thoughts off of Iris, and how pissed he is that someone would dredge these memories up to use against him.]
You didn't have to walk the full distance from Coast City to Central City, right? Maybe if we take off in the right direction, thinking of the memory in question, we can... get it going.
We can try with the lab first? Where I got struck by lightning.
Or maybe you're just easily mind-controlled. Ever thought of that? [He gets it. That's part of why he has yet to get out of Barry's personal space. That and maybe he also needs the closeness right now. No one can prove anything]
That's as good an idea as any. A lot of the details are pretty phoned in, but Central seems relatively accurate. [Barry's memories were apparently more of an open door than Hal's. He might wanna work on that] So the lab it is, I guess.
You're rude. [There's no heat behind it. He's grateful to Hal for snapping him out of this... elaborate dream, or simulation, or whatever it is that taints his memories. Obviously this was something he was more susceptible to. Is it really any surprise, though, when Hal's power is his will?]
We can use that to our advantage, hopefully. [If he can get his speed back, and they can find Hal's ring, then maybe they can take control of this situation back and break the illusion. It's the best idea he has right now, anyway.
Barry rummages in his pocket for his car keys.] Lab it is. I'll drive. We'll find out on the way if this is going to work. [Because... he has to will a thunderstorm into existence now. Fun.]
[It's not really surprising at all that Barry was more susceptible. And how were they supposed to know that the meta they were chasing could do this? Most of the time when you're after someone you've never encountered before, you find out what their powers are just like this. Experience.
Hal reluctantly gets out of Barry's space, because they can't really go anywhere attached to each other]
Let's go, then. I can't remember the last time I saw you drive. [Teasing to try and distract from the fact that this is all pretty fucked, actually]
But oh well, you live and you learn. They'll figure out some way out of this - they usually do. And if they take too long, he's sure the League will be showing up to do it for them, though he hopes it doesn't come to that, just because it'd be embarrassing.
He's just as reluctant to pull away, but they've got to get to being heroes again - there'll be time to hold each other when they get out of this.] Ha, it's been a while. I'd say hopefully I remember how, but it doesn't look like this illusion is fully rendered - we probably won't run into traffic.
[He slides into the car parked in the driveway, something he hasn't really bothered with in a long, long time, and waits for Hal to join him.]
[He follows Barry to the car. The last time they were in a car together was years ago, before either one of them died, and it was Hal driving. So this should be interesting. He gets into the passenger seat of the fake car in the fake driveway, shutting the door behind him]
As funny as it would be to watch you crash a fake car, I'm glad for that. What's your plan when we actually get to the lab?
[Barry still remembers how to drive. He's not bad at it, never was. He pulls out of the fake driveway, and onto the street. It's- strange, how unformed some of the world is, and how detailed some other places are. It's going to give him a headache if he thinks about it too hard, or focuses on any of those pedestrians without faces.]
It's not much of a plan, honestly. Mix up the same chemicals I did that night, try to get struck by lightning again.
[And... it's funny, the closer they get to the lab, the more Barry focuses on it and this piss-poor plan, it actually does start to rain in this fake world, the distant sound of thunder in the background.]
[That is, in fact, a terrible plan. But Hal has no better ideas so he's not exactly in a place to throw stones here. At least if this poor excuse for a plan works, they'll be one step closer to getting out of here. That seems like a long shot until it actually starts raining.]
On the bright side, Bar, we may have just found out that this fake world we're stuck in is manipulable. Keep focusing on that.
[It's a relief when the storm starts up around them. That means at least one of his theories was correct - that some part of this is drawing from memories, from their thoughts. By thinking on that night, that storm, the lightning that struck him, that maybe he could bring that around and unlock his speed again. Then they can do the same for Hal, hopefully get his ring back. With their abilities back, it should be much easier to find and deal with this meta.]
That's what I was hoping for. With any luck, maybe it's just a mental block on our abilities, and by recreating how we got our powers, it might remove that block.
[He pulls up in front of the CCPD lab, and slides out of the car, glancing up at the sky - a bolt of lightning flashes across it, lighting up their faces.] Hopefully this works.
Could be. That makes about as much sense as anything else that's happened to us today.
[Hal gets out of the car too, looking up at the sky. It's weird how encouraging that lightning is. Everything about this day is weird. Honestly, Hal can't wait to find the meta responsible for this]
Hopefully. Let's go get you struck by lightning. [As you do]
Yeah... It's been a weird one. [Barry agrees, a little more faintly, as his thoughts flit back to earlier, that pleasant daze of having breakfast and seeing Iris off to work. To how he probably wouldn't have broken out of that control for a while, if left to his own devices, because it had felt so- nostalgic, once-upon-a-time normal.
But he can't focus on that right now. He shoves his keys into his pocket, and leads the way into the labs, swiping his card to get them in. The scenery here is clearer than a lot of what's outside, distinct in Barry's memory. Lightning cracks outside, thunder following, an echoing boom.] Alright, let's see... You stand here, and you should be safe.
[Barry directs Hal to one of the walls, away from the shelves of chemicals and the skylight.]
[Hal feels like maybe he should be...offering some sort of comfort or something. This has undoubtedly been harder on Barry than it has on him. But he also feels like the time for that isn't right now. Once they get out here, he can do that. Right now they need to get out of this illusion so Hal can beat the shit out of the guy who put them here]
I just want you to know that the only reason I'm okay with this is because it's probably our only way out of here and you've already survived it once.
[He goes where he's directed without even questioning it, though. He's not wild about this plan but he trusts Barry's judgement]
Tell me about it. [There isn't time for comfort, or dwelling on his own mishmash of emotions, or even for thinking about how Hal must be feeling to wake up with a fake version of Carol. They're superheroes first, and while they're trapped here, unaware of the waking world, they need to focus on the situation.
Still, as he places Hal in a spot where he should be safe from breaking glass and lightning strikes, he smiles wryly at Hal's words.] Sorry. Don't panic, alright? It'll all be fine.
[He's right - Barry survived this once before. And he's fairly sure he'll be fine again. Glancing up through the skylight again, noting the intensity of the storm, he gets to it, mixing up the same chemicals he remembers working with that night.
It doesn't keep the lightning strike from being quite dramatic looking, shattering the skylight and the bottles and beakers of chemicals, sending Barry crumpling to the ground. His theory was right, though - as electricity crackles around him, he feels the speedforce again, and pulls himself to his feet with a gasping breath.]
[That is a lie. But only because Barry is involved. Anything else and it would be true. Barry just has this tendency to draw the full spectrum of emotion out of Hal. It's very annoying.
The lightning strike is...about how you’d expect watching someone get struck by lightning to be. Hal has to mentally remind himself over and over again that it's fine. This has already happened once and Barry's fine. He stubbornly ignores the little whisper in the back of his mind that says that it'd be just his luck if it turned out to not be fine. It's incredibly relieving when Barry stands, though he doesn't approach for now]
Why does everything you do have to be so damn dramatic?
[It's disorienting, getting struck by lightning again. Going from feeling like a regular person (which, wow, he hasn't felt that in forever, and he'd barely let himself enjoy it?) to having his speed back. It felt like before, a hard and painful kick in the chest that steals his breath before the pain goes away, burns that last only moments before they heal. The speedforce is crackling around him as he stands, shakes off that disorientation.
Only to smile apologetically at Hal, who has never had to see this before. No one has, actually - he was alone when it happened the first time.]
Sorry. It worked, though, didn't it? [He's at Hal's side in a flash, offering his hand.] So now we just have to get your ring back.
"It worked". Pain in my ass. [Hal can only really roll his eyes, though, because it did work. It was dramatic and vaguely distressing but it did work. He takes Barry's hand when it's offered, giving it a little squeeze]
Yeah, yeah. [Barry says with a huff of a laugh, squeezing his hand reassuringly in return, before he hoists Hal up into his arms and zips out of the building. At this speed, the landscape can't really keep up, and looks mostly like a blur.]
Back to fake California. Focus on where we need to be.
[The casualness with which Barry scoops Hal up has always been a little funny, honestly. The first time he ever did it, years ago, it had surprised Hal. They'd known each other...maybe two weeks? And there Barry was, picking him up like it didn't even matter. Dinah still to this day sometimes brings the story up, mostly just to make fun of the look Hal had apparently had on his face when it happened. Now, he doesn't even really think twice about it. It's just funny how things change]
Middle of the California desert. I don't know the exact spot for sure but...that should be specific enough.
[Sure enough, the blurry background features start to turn a little more barren. Lots of brown and rocks all around them]
[Barry doesn't really think twice about it; it's just second nature, and always kind of has been. He's not going to say they were in love with each other at first sight, but their friendship was a fast one, and a comfortable one, to where Barry just... doesn't feel weird about things with Hal.]
It shouldn't matter. If you picture it strongly, it'll likely manifest, no matter what direction we're going in. [And sure enough, even though the direction Barry took off in probably isn't exactly right, the scenery is changing to something he can definitely say is desert.
He slows down as the scenery around them grows sharper in detail.] We're getting close.
[Hal doesn't remember specifics too well but after a minute their surroundings start to look familiar. By the time Barry slows, things are getting much more clear and detailed around them. It feels...familiar, even though it's hard to tell one stretch of desert from another. They reach a spot where everything is very vivid suddenly and Hal gives Barry's shoulder a little nudge]
[Barry sets Hal down, glancing around at the California desert, straight out of Hal's memory of when he received his Lantern ring. It's a little interesting, honestly, and hopefully a little less traumatic than watching Barry get struck by lightning.]
I'll wait here until you're done, and then hopefully we'll go get this guy.
[Both for reassurance, and for good luck, Barry leans in to kiss him, brief and chaste.]
[Definitely less traumatic than getting struck by lightning. Comparatively, of course, because a spaceship containing a dying alien crashing in front of you is still a little traumatic. Hal returns the kiss, briefly, and then he's moving away. He starts walking away from Barry, out into the desert, eyes on the sky. After a minute there's a glint visible through the clouds and then a ship appears, damaged and heading straight for the ground. The ship crashes, there's an explosion and then a fire. It's all very dramatic and just like Hal remembers it.
Hal never really knew Abin Sur but he's always been grateful to him. He was always doomed to die, honestly. Even without his ship going down he was badly wounded and would not have made it back to Oa for treatment. Hal's just glad he made it to Earth. The Lantern ring is the only thing that ever really gave his life meaning. Which may be a sad way to look at things but...well, it's true.
He approaches the downed ship and opens the hatch. Sure enough, there's Abin, just like he remembers. There's a part of Hal that still feels guilty, that wishes he could have done something to help Abin. He knows there was nothing he could have done, logically, but it doesn't make the feeling go away. In a flash of green Hal is reunited with his ring. His powers come from an object, they're not a part of him in the way Barry's are but he still feels much more like himself once he has his ring back]
[Barry stays put, keeping half an eye on the sky and half an eye on Hal, moving toward a crashing ship. He practically vibrates as he stands still, because it's always hard to see some kind of trouble and not rush in to help. None of this is real, though - it's a memory, something that's already happened. It's just as dramatic as being struck by lightning, though, thank you - that was a hell of an explosion, and it makes him wince.
It's sobering to watch Hal receive his ring from a dying alien. Whatever this meta did to them, it's bringing up all kinds of feelings, it seems, but dealing with them will have to come later. After they've beaten this guy.
With that familiar green glow enveloping Hal, it's like the scenery around them is starting to glitch out and fade away.] Looks like my theory was right. Ready to get this guy?
[So maybe it is a little traumatic. It's fine. The main point is that they both have their powers back and they can work on getting out of here]
Yup. Luckily, he didn't take into account how smart you are. [Ignoring that Barry was more susceptible to the mind control than Hal was. That doesn't matter. He's the one who figured out their way out]
More than ready. I call punching him in the face. [Because this whole day? Rude]
Or how stubborn you are. [To break the mind control and all, far sooner than Barry would have been able to on his own. This is why they complement each other so well, and always have worked well together in situations like these.]
Be my guest. [This meta has more than earned a few punches to the face by now. When the scenery fades fully, it's like waking up, only to find themselves in a pretty piss-poor cell with barred doors, the both of them shackled to metal chairs. The illusion, or mind control, or whatever it was, was clearly meant to keep them here, because these restraints won't. Barry vibrates out of his immediately, and then pulls Hal out too, and blows up the lock on the barred door.
It swings open easily by then. They're in some kind of makeshift warehouse, it seems, and he can hear frantic footsteps and a voice farther down.] No one told me they were gay! What the fuck? How was I supposed to know the control wouldn't work right?
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You didn't have to walk the full distance from Coast City to Central City, right? Maybe if we take off in the right direction, thinking of the memory in question, we can... get it going.
We can try with the lab first? Where I got struck by lightning.
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That's as good an idea as any. A lot of the details are pretty phoned in, but Central seems relatively accurate. [Barry's memories were apparently more of an open door than Hal's. He might wanna work on that] So the lab it is, I guess.
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We can use that to our advantage, hopefully. [If he can get his speed back, and they can find Hal's ring, then maybe they can take control of this situation back and break the illusion. It's the best idea he has right now, anyway.
Barry rummages in his pocket for his car keys.] Lab it is. I'll drive. We'll find out on the way if this is going to work. [Because... he has to will a thunderstorm into existence now. Fun.]
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[It's not really surprising at all that Barry was more susceptible. And how were they supposed to know that the meta they were chasing could do this? Most of the time when you're after someone you've never encountered before, you find out what their powers are just like this. Experience.
Hal reluctantly gets out of Barry's space, because they can't really go anywhere attached to each other]
Let's go, then. I can't remember the last time I saw you drive. [Teasing to try and distract from the fact that this is all pretty fucked, actually]
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But oh well, you live and you learn. They'll figure out some way out of this - they usually do. And if they take too long, he's sure the League will be showing up to do it for them, though he hopes it doesn't come to that, just because it'd be embarrassing.
He's just as reluctant to pull away, but they've got to get to being heroes again - there'll be time to hold each other when they get out of this.] Ha, it's been a while. I'd say hopefully I remember how, but it doesn't look like this illusion is fully rendered - we probably won't run into traffic.
[He slides into the car parked in the driveway, something he hasn't really bothered with in a long, long time, and waits for Hal to join him.]
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[He follows Barry to the car. The last time they were in a car together was years ago, before either one of them died, and it was Hal driving. So this should be interesting. He gets into the passenger seat of the fake car in the fake driveway, shutting the door behind him]
As funny as it would be to watch you crash a fake car, I'm glad for that. What's your plan when we actually get to the lab?
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It's not much of a plan, honestly. Mix up the same chemicals I did that night, try to get struck by lightning again.
[And... it's funny, the closer they get to the lab, the more Barry focuses on it and this piss-poor plan, it actually does start to rain in this fake world, the distant sound of thunder in the background.]
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[That is, in fact, a terrible plan. But Hal has no better ideas so he's not exactly in a place to throw stones here. At least if this poor excuse for a plan works, they'll be one step closer to getting out of here. That seems like a long shot until it actually starts raining.]
On the bright side, Bar, we may have just found out that this fake world we're stuck in is manipulable. Keep focusing on that.
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That's what I was hoping for. With any luck, maybe it's just a mental block on our abilities, and by recreating how we got our powers, it might remove that block.
[He pulls up in front of the CCPD lab, and slides out of the car, glancing up at the sky - a bolt of lightning flashes across it, lighting up their faces.] Hopefully this works.
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[Hal gets out of the car too, looking up at the sky. It's weird how encouraging that lightning is. Everything about this day is weird. Honestly, Hal can't wait to find the meta responsible for this]
Hopefully. Let's go get you struck by lightning. [As you do]
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But he can't focus on that right now. He shoves his keys into his pocket, and leads the way into the labs, swiping his card to get them in. The scenery here is clearer than a lot of what's outside, distinct in Barry's memory. Lightning cracks outside, thunder following, an echoing boom.] Alright, let's see... You stand here, and you should be safe.
[Barry directs Hal to one of the walls, away from the shelves of chemicals and the skylight.]
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[Hal feels like maybe he should be...offering some sort of comfort or something. This has undoubtedly been harder on Barry than it has on him. But he also feels like the time for that isn't right now. Once they get out here, he can do that. Right now they need to get out of this illusion so Hal can beat the shit out of the guy who put them here]
I just want you to know that the only reason I'm okay with this is because it's probably our only way out of here and you've already survived it once.
[He goes where he's directed without even questioning it, though. He's not wild about this plan but he trusts Barry's judgement]
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Still, as he places Hal in a spot where he should be safe from breaking glass and lightning strikes, he smiles wryly at Hal's words.] Sorry. Don't panic, alright? It'll all be fine.
[He's right - Barry survived this once before. And he's fairly sure he'll be fine again. Glancing up through the skylight again, noting the intensity of the storm, he gets to it, mixing up the same chemicals he remembers working with that night.
It doesn't keep the lightning strike from being quite dramatic looking, shattering the skylight and the bottles and beakers of chemicals, sending Barry crumpling to the ground. His theory was right, though - as electricity crackles around him, he feels the speedforce again, and pulls himself to his feet with a gasping breath.]
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[That is a lie. But only because Barry is involved. Anything else and it would be true. Barry just has this tendency to draw the full spectrum of emotion out of Hal. It's very annoying.
The lightning strike is...about how you’d expect watching someone get struck by lightning to be. Hal has to mentally remind himself over and over again that it's fine. This has already happened once and Barry's fine. He stubbornly ignores the little whisper in the back of his mind that says that it'd be just his luck if it turned out to not be fine. It's incredibly relieving when Barry stands, though he doesn't approach for now]
Why does everything you do have to be so damn dramatic?
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Only to smile apologetically at Hal, who has never had to see this before. No one has, actually - he was alone when it happened the first time.]
Sorry. It worked, though, didn't it? [He's at Hal's side in a flash, offering his hand.] So now we just have to get your ring back.
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Back to fake California, then?
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Back to fake California. Focus on where we need to be.
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Middle of the California desert. I don't know the exact spot for sure but...that should be specific enough.
[Sure enough, the blurry background features start to turn a little more barren. Lots of brown and rocks all around them]
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It shouldn't matter. If you picture it strongly, it'll likely manifest, no matter what direction we're going in. [And sure enough, even though the direction Barry took off in probably isn't exactly right, the scenery is changing to something he can definitely say is desert.
He slows down as the scenery around them grows sharper in detail.] We're getting close.
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Stop here and let me down. I think this is right.
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I'll wait here until you're done, and then hopefully we'll go get this guy.
[Both for reassurance, and for good luck, Barry leans in to kiss him, brief and chaste.]
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Hal never really knew Abin Sur but he's always been grateful to him. He was always doomed to die, honestly. Even without his ship going down he was badly wounded and would not have made it back to Oa for treatment. Hal's just glad he made it to Earth. The Lantern ring is the only thing that ever really gave his life meaning. Which may be a sad way to look at things but...well, it's true.
He approaches the downed ship and opens the hatch. Sure enough, there's Abin, just like he remembers. There's a part of Hal that still feels guilty, that wishes he could have done something to help Abin. He knows there was nothing he could have done, logically, but it doesn't make the feeling go away. In a flash of green Hal is reunited with his ring. His powers come from an object, they're not a part of him in the way Barry's are but he still feels much more like himself once he has his ring back]
That's so much better.
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It's sobering to watch Hal receive his ring from a dying alien. Whatever this meta did to them, it's bringing up all kinds of feelings, it seems, but dealing with them will have to come later. After they've beaten this guy.
With that familiar green glow enveloping Hal, it's like the scenery around them is starting to glitch out and fade away.] Looks like my theory was right. Ready to get this guy?
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Yup. Luckily, he didn't take into account how smart you are. [Ignoring that Barry was more susceptible to the mind control than Hal was. That doesn't matter. He's the one who figured out their way out]
More than ready. I call punching him in the face. [Because this whole day? Rude]
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Be my guest. [This meta has more than earned a few punches to the face by now. When the scenery fades fully, it's like waking up, only to find themselves in a pretty piss-poor cell with barred doors, the both of them shackled to metal chairs. The illusion, or mind control, or whatever it was, was clearly meant to keep them here, because these restraints won't. Barry vibrates out of his immediately, and then pulls Hal out too, and blows up the lock on the barred door.
It swings open easily by then. They're in some kind of makeshift warehouse, it seems, and he can hear frantic footsteps and a voice farther down.] No one told me they were gay! What the fuck? How was I supposed to know the control wouldn't work right?
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